Two members of Congress want an investigation of USDA-Wildlife Services

A rare opportunity for the public and Congress to expose and change these federal wildlife killers?

John Campbell, a Republican from Irvine, California, and Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon, want Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to hold an investigatory hearing on the activities of the U.S. Wildlife Services, the Dept. of Agriculture outfit that kills so many of our native wildlife just to satisfy the livestock interests.

This could be just the beginning, but such opportunities don’t come often. Those interested might not get another chance to get Congressman Issa to listen. If the public does not act, reform or abolition of this agency won’t happen.

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Ralph Maughan

Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.

Peter DeFazio tried this in 1998 with Republican Rep Charles Bass of New Hampshire by introducing an amendment to the Dept. Of Agriculture apprpriation Bill to strip Wildlife services of all funds for lethal control. The House passed the bill 229 to 193. The vote did not stand as Rep. Joseph Skeen- a southern New mexico sheep rancher, recipient of federal predator control services and Republican Chairman of the House Agricultural Appropriations subcommittee organized his colleagues. Clintons Sec of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, backed Skeen with a letter urging a revote… the amendmen was defeated 232 to 192…

It’s been tried before. Hopefully this time with effects that will modify WS for the better of, well, wildlife.

Those contacting the committee chairman would do well to use conservative arguments such as “Wildlife Services is a socialist competitor to free enterprise, private pest control — something we certainly cannot afford in the times of such huge budget deficits.”

Rep. Issa is not going to be a friend of progressive arguments against the agency, but there are plenty of conservative reasons to reign it in.

“What do you think? It may be on the Congressional menu and I just wonder what the public will do in response. The time is right and this may be the only shot the public gets at it.

as for “providing tens of millions of acres of wildlife habitat” – this would be some good research to see how much John Faulkner, Frank Shirtz and a few other big names in sheep raising throughout the West actually own and how much is wildlife habitat vs cropland or grass for livestock. We know they use that quantity in public lands consumption. These are thoughts we should be having right now.” ~ Carter Niemeyer.

I completely agree with Carter here. This very well may be the ONLY chance the public gets . Investigating the US Wildlife Services was tried before. Pete DeFazio tried this in 1998 with Republican Rep Charles Bass of New Hampshire by introducing an amendment to the Dept. Of Agriculture apprpriation Bill to strip Wildlife services of all funds for lethal control. The House passed the bill 229 to 193. The vote did not stand as Rep. Joseph Skeen- a southern New mexico sheep rancher, recipient of federal predator control services and Republican Chairman of the House Agricultural Appropriations subcommittee organized his colleagues. Clintons Sec of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, backed Skeen with a letter urging a revote… the amendmen was defeated 232 to 192…

Don’t under estimate the Huge amount of power these Big livestock producers and their hatchet men carry in the US congress. Its going to take a large portion of the public’s support to make sure what these two congressmen are proposing gets done. Writing or calling your state senators and Congressmen to urge them to support this investigation is critical, We can’t take the ” wait and see” position on this. ~ Steve.

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‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."